Tuesday, May 1, 2012

A GENERATION (Polish) (1954)

What a profound and wide impact
two world war made in shaping the art, literature and cinema of the world. The
war gave a distinct new voice to cinema where the motion picture no longer
remained just an illusory escapist entertainment in dark but become a
contemplative reality window the world avoids to see. It’s just not suffice to
label this films as either anti-war and Neorealist cinema because ultimately
they show us the grim and tragic reality of humanity in general proclaiming
that tragedy is birth of all original arts.

“Once there was a wise bearded
man by the name of Karl Marx. He once wrote that workers were paid just barely
enough to renew their strength. These days we don’t even get that, we have to
scrounge to survive,” said an exploited Polish apprentice to another newly
appointed one while working together for making wooden furniture for their
enemy. The time was 1942, the place was Warsaw
and the loss was ‘A Generation’ struggled and sacrificed under a false hope to
live liberated happy life. A young idealist protagonist named Stach slowly
drawn in Nazi occupied Poland
towards uprising against oppressive regime. First by that shockingly lost a
friend by a German gun while playing mischief to steal coal on transport train,
then by meeting an old communist apprentice and finally by accidentally
discovering a gun in wastage garbage at job and joining a union of young polish
liberation fighters. He forms his own group and finally shot a German Gestapo
in a bar.

With his first breakthrough film
of famous war trilogy Andrzej Wajda portrayed the stark chronicle of
disillusionment where a bunch of young idealist men drawn towards fight for
motherland. He sets the youthful romance and idealist enthusiasm confronted
with forces of war. The romance with gun, woman and motherland finally proved
too hard illusion to bear. Along with Wajda, the film is a debut feature of two
polish men hard to resist- one is Wajda’s personal favorite actor Cybulski in a
forgettable role and the other is amateurish and boyish Roman Polanski as
actor. However the part of main protagonist Stach is played so naturally by Tedeusz
Lomnicki.

In the entire war trilogy Wajda heroes
remained young men juxtaposed their romance with gun and woman and both turned
out as illusions in tragedy of world war. All three films maintain striking
visuals showing us the uncompromising stark images instantly sets you towards
the feel of mood and atmosphere of war clad Poland. Watch that train sequence, hanging
dead bodies lined up on electric poles or spiral staircase shootout and you’ll
know what I mean.

About Me

Born in 1977 and professionally lecturer,I love to explore life in all its intricacies around me. Reading-imagining-thinking, watching/analysing films, listening music are more than passion- obsession and compulsion for me to survive like air, water and food. Only like minded ones can understand some of my lunatic passion while reading this blog.I also love to meet people, hanging out different places, observe people while trying to adjust the struggling identities of being animal and human.